Etienne Brule

French Explorer

Born: c. 1592

Died: 1633

Brulé came to Canada in 1608 and spent years
with the Algonquin Indians, studying their language and culture, working
as an interpreter between the French and the Algonquin tribes.

He traveled with Samuel de Champlain on the expeditions that discovered
Lake Ontario (1615) and Lake Superior (1622). His later explorations are
not fully documented, but he did explore the Susquehanna River, getting
as far as the Chesapeake Bay.

He lived among the Huron Indians on and off from 1611 to 1629 and
collected furs for the French. However, he turned against the French in
1629 and led the British expedition that captured Quebec and took
Champlain prisoner. It has been rumored that Brulé was later killed by
members of the Hurons, his adopted tribe, after returning to live with
them.